I was very pleased to read that Chuck Penson WA7ZZE was publishing a book about Heathkit's amateur radio products. His book is a really great guide, providing a lot of fascinating information, stuff that even those of us who have spent decades with pieces of Heath gear didn't know. For example, I never knew that an after-market dial had been available for the HW-101. And I didn't know that the Indian names used for many of the Heath rigs (Comanche, Apache, etc.) resulted from a suggestion from Roger Mace's wife, who was Native American.
Chuck's book arrived just as I was putting my DX-40 novice transmitter back on the air after almost 50 years. TRGHS. Who knew that there were TWO versions of the DX-40? I didn't, but Chuck did, and his book explained how to spot the difference (flashlight through the side vents -- I have the very slightly more modern version).
When I opened the book for my first peek inside, the page opened to the QF-1 Q multiplier. I immediately felt guilty about having brutally cannibalized several (well maybe more than several) of these things. But right there in the text Chuck repeats my justification for the carnage: He notes that the tuning cap has a nice 14:1 turns ratio. Exactly. How could I NOT pull those beautiful variable caps out of that old regen device, for re-use in superhet receivers and BITX transceivers?
This is a wonderful book that belongs in the workshop libraries of all those who have used and loved Heathkits over the years.
Order yours here:
Thanks a lot Chuck for making such a great contribution to the radio art and to ham radio literature.
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Is there an index of what is in this one or any of his books for that matter?
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